Southwest Airlines' added fee may signal more add-on costs

By Amberlee Lovell , Deseret News

Published: Monday, Dec. 17 2012 12:25 p.m. MST

Southwest Airlines will add a fee for no-shows starting in 2013. (Jeff Roberson, The Associated Press)

Southwest Airlines' new fee policy will charge no-show costs for customers who don't cancel tickets before a flight. With the slogan "Bags Fly Free," Southwest's reputation of no-nonsense fees may be changing for customers, according to an article by Bloomberg.

Chief Executive Officer Gary Kelly didn't dismiss the idea of other added-on fees in the future, although he did say it was unlikely for them to happen in 2013.

“We don’t have a first-bag fee idea for 2013 or a change fee,” Kelly said to Bloomberg.

Currently, Southwest still continues to fly two bags for free, with unspecified increased prices on a third bag.

The new revenue expected from these fees — an expected $100 million annually — will double the company's earnings.

“This (fee) is pretty industry standard,” Kelly said. “Customers understand we could all benefit from the opportunity to resell a seat. Once the airplane takes off and it’s empty, we can’t ever resell it.”